Summary :While all yoga exercises focus on working out the body as well as the mind, hath yoga is that form of yoga exercise that stimulates the body more than the mind. However, hath yoga too, includes stretches typical of yoga, that are intended to relax the body and mind for spiritual awakening. Hath yoga is the most popular form of yoga that is practised in the United States, where it is mostly employed in order to derive maximum physical benefits.

Hatha yoga is a mild exercise that makes the existing muscles stronger without the addition of unwanted muscle bulk. People who practice hatha yoga claim all sorts of homeopathic benefits varying from illness relief to improved concentration while meditating.

Hatha Yoga and Illness

There is no conclusive scientific proof that hatha yoga has any positive or negative effects on the health. However, the technique is thousands of years old and the people who practice the poses and meditation claim to enjoy a range of health benefits. Hatha yoga is said by some to be able to relieve every discomfort from bowel problems to head aches. The stretches and poses are believed to massage the inner organs balancing the body’s chemicals naturally.

Even if there is no irrefutable proof supporting the claims that hatha yoga does in fact have health benefits in addition to physically exercising the body, many people who practice yoga have enhanced self esteem, are more in tune with their body’s needs, and take a more active interest in their health by exercising on a regular basis and eating healthy foods.

Menstrual Discomfort

Many medical facilities are devoted solely to women’s health because of a woman’s unique anatomy and various bodily changes that occur through their lives. Hatha yoga is able to advance women’s health by granting an opening for daily exercise, which is recommended by most doctors. The poses and stretches, by their massaging action on the internal organs are considered to alleviate menstrual pain or other discomforts related to the menstrual cycle.

Pregnancy

Some poses of hatha yoga are recognized to be safe exercises for women while pregnant. However, not all poses should be practised during pregnancy; poses, which would call for a woman to press on her stomach, for instance would not be advised.

Also during the third trimester, simple and gentle stretches and poses of hatha yoga should be practiced. Any poses that would require a woman to lie on her back or stand on one foot should not be tried late in pregnancy.

There are reasonable explanations for all these restrictions. It is to be understood that there is a large network of veins running along the spine that supplies blood and oxygen to the unborn baby. When a woman lies on her back, the extra weight of the baby on this venous system can adversely affect the flow of blood thus denying it vital oxygen. In the second case, it is easy to understand that a pregnant woman carrying a baby in the advanced stages has an unstable equilibrium and standing on one foot could lead to further unbalance, which could be dangerous.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 6:01 pm and is filed under Yoga. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.